


you and me, forevermore

by ladynoirist (stylostique)



Series: just stay this little (just try to never grow up) [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Cats, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Post-Reveal Pre-Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27967661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylostique/pseuds/ladynoirist
Summary: the kitten purrs against his collarbone and he doesn’t think he’s ever heard a sweeter sound. if he hadn’t made his decision already in the alleyway, this would be the moment he would value this little life above even his ownadrien finds a kindred spirit
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: just stay this little (just try to never grow up) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2173368
Comments: 33
Kudos: 230
Collections: post-reveal pre-relationship fics





	you and me, forevermore

**Author's Note:**

> this is my piece for the [silver lining zine](https://adrienagrestezine.tumblr.com), an adrien-centric zine with over 50 pages of adrien-centric content! i had the opportunity to moderate and create a piece for this zine and the final product is utterly gorgeous and a wonderful tribute to our favorite cat boy

The keys in his pocket should make Adrien much happier than he currently is.

He’s wanted them, wished for them, worked so hard for them over the past four years, and he definitely shouldn’t be feeling the looming sense of dread he feels at the prospect of going home to his cold, empty apartment, amplified by the overcast sky that greets him as he steps out of his university building.

It’s supposed to be his sanctuary, his respite, but all he can think about, despite all the hours he spent choosing, moving into, and decorating it, is how the cavernous ceilings and polished hardwood floors remind him of his childhood bedroom, just lonelier (something he’d never even thought possible), and with less storage space.

Oh, he’s definitely grateful to have his own place. Though he grumbles about cheese wrappers strewn everywhere, he absolutely loves how Plagg clearly enjoys being able to go wherever he pleases without worrying about being discovered, and the little cheese gremlin’s littering gives his— _their_ —apartment a homey, lived-in feeling that Adrien’s ingrained tidiness would never allow him to create otherwise.

He shakes his head, trying, failing, to expel the thoughts from it. Every time he thinks like this, he tries to remind himself that he should be grateful for being able to afford a comfortable home in one of the most expensive cities in the world, but that line of thought inevitably leads back to his father, and all that _that_ does is irrevocably mess up the rest of his day, every time.

He would have lived with Nino if it weren’t for Nino moving to London with Alya, where they had what they claimed to be the world’s tiniest student apartment, in the city, walking distance from their respective universities. If Adrien and Marinette didn’t have to worry about Hawkmoth and akumas, he liked to imagine that they’d have moved to London with their friends as well—he knew he’d gotten good enough grades to apply, and Marinette would be a shoo-in for any fashion school she’d apply to.

Even now, he wishes he had the courage to ask her to move in with him. But he knows his lady too well, even if it weren’t for the mystery boy she still carried a torch for even after all these years, she’d still refuse outright: her pride would never allow her to live with him rent-free, and the only way she’d be able to afford even half the exorbitant rent of his apartment would be working herself to the bone with two jobs and commissions on top of her demanding university program.

She visits him often enough, and every time she leaves his apartment, he sternly reminds himself to be glad she still stuck by him after realizing her ‘irreplaceable’ Chat Noir was Bad at Mecha Strike Adrien.

He’s so lost in his thoughts that he almost doesn’t hear the soft mewling from the alleyway he ducks into to transform, but it breaks through the miasma of thoughts occupying his brain, and he casts a glance around, rummaging in his backpack for the bag of cat treats he usually has at hand to feed the strays he encounters. The meow doesn’t sound familiar, and he perks up a little, wondering if he’s going to make a new friend today. 

He finds a tiny, skinny, terrified, and utterly _miserable_ kitten hiding behind a dumpster, and his heart shatters.

“Here, kitty, kitty,” he whispers, grabbing a fistful of treats, ready to empty out his entire stock as long as the kitten comes to him. He doesn’t have to—the kitten runs to him almost as soon as he opens his mouth and clambers onto his palm. It peers up at him with wide eyes and he's one second away from melting. He winces as his fingers curl around it and run against its pronounced ribcage. 

He usually convinces himself not to bring cats home because he can barely take care of _himself,_ but this is a kitten which looks like it’s too young to even be weaned from its mother, much less left to fend for itself. It’s not a tough decision to make, there’s no choice he’s willing to consider that doesn’t involve tucking the kitten into the pocket of his hoodie and running to the nearest pet supply store before it starts to rain.

* * *

Adrien finally gets home just as Ladybug touches down on his balcony. She hums as she walks in, pulling a stack of insulated food containers out of her yoyo to set them on his coffee table before she drops her transformation and shakes the water droplets out of her hair. 

He’s known her for five years and has known her identity for almost a year, now, but it still takes him by surprise how breathless her simplest actions can leave him, and at this point he thinks he’s never going to be over it, over _her,_ and he might as well resign himself to the fact.

“Hey, kitty, long day? You’re usually home by fi—” She freezes, eyes wide as the kitten pokes his little head out of Adrien’s pocket.

“Adrien…” she says, in a carefully measured tone, “is that…”

“A kitten in his pocket or is he just happy to see you?” Plagg interrupts. “Yeah, better luck next time, Pigtails,” he cackles and dives for the box of stinky tofu Marinette’s packed for him.

Adrien’s face burns as he tries very hard not to think of what Plagg meant by that.

The kitten meows and leaps out of Adrien’s pocket, and his heart leaps into his mouth and refuses to calm down even as it lands on its paws and proceeds to run and hide under his couch.

“You got a kitten,” Marinette says, staring at the spot the kitten disappeared. Over the past five years, she’s learned to temper her voice enough to sound completely calm when on the verge of a freak-out, but if anyone can still read her, it’s Adrien. “Adrien, chaton, you do realize that you barely even know how to cook rice, right? How are you going to take care of a kitten, especially one that young?”

An ugly knot forms in Adrien’s stomach. One disadvantage of knowing someone as well, as deeply, as he and Marinette know each other is that even the most casual remark has the power to slice through like a knife to the gut.

“He was alone, Marinette! Alone and hungry and scared and I couldn’t—I couldn’t just—”

Marinette crosses the living room in two long strides and pulls him into a crushing hug. A disapproving voice that sounds disconcertingly like his father rings through the back of his head, telling him he should probably worry that he’s so easy for her to read, that he’s weak for letting his guard down, but she feels him tense up and guides him to sit on the couch as she reaches her hand up to stroke through her hair, and that voice can’t hold up against the rush of love that warms him down to his very toes.

He feels a strange tug on his jean leg, and he looks down to see the kitten— _his_ kitten—clambering up his leg. He scoops the little ball of fur up and holds it up to his face, and gasps as the kitten sticks its head out to rub against his chin. He cradles it to his chest and finally allows his tears to slip out.

The kitten purrs against his collarbone and he doesn’t think he’s ever heard a sweeter sound. If he hadn’t made his decision already in the alleyway, this would be the moment he would value this little life above even his own—a thought which reminds him of a rather terrifying prospect.

“Do you think I won’t be able to take care of him?” he asks Marinette. Because she’s _right,_ he can barely take care of his own adult self, and how is he going to be responsible for a tiny life if the only way he’s survived on his own this long is through the meals Marinette’s mother sends him?

“Adrien,” she says with a watery smile that tells him she knows exactly what he’s thinking, what he’s not saying, “it’s gonna be okay. We can take him to the vet tomorrow, and I drop in so often, I can definitely drop in when I’m not in class to keep him company, and just… just remember that I’m right here, and I always will be.”

The way she looks at him right then makes him think that the kitten’s not the _only_ thing she’s talking about, and he collapses against her chest, overwhelmed with gratitude, counting his lucky stars that he had the wonderful fortune to meet her.

Marinette presses a kiss to his head, and one to the kitten’s head, too, and Adrien thinks his cold apartment might just have gotten a little warmer already. 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you liked it! it ended up being a very personal piece for me, and for abandonment issues baby adrien <3 the kitten is _definitely_ gonna make a comeback, even if his future feature fics aren't strictly connected to this one


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